Wednesday, January 16, 2013

It is my son's birthday. It is also my father's birthday. It is also my nephew's son's birthday. It is also the anniversary for my stepson and his lovely wife.

This is a fabulous day for me and my family!! Hard to forget.

So many wonderful memories! So many more to come.

None of the above has anything to do with today's post. I know for the past few weeks, I have been inundating you with Brie recipes. All things Brie.
It's a delicious cheese, but woman cannot live on cheese alone.

Really good bread is hard to find and make. Really good Gluten-free bread is even harder.

Well, let me share with you one of my greatest finds.

Gluten Free Girl has a cookbook. Her husband is a chef. They've worked recipes together. They've made videos. They are cute.

She made this foccacio and the picture in the cookbook was so wonderful I had to try.

Except, lo and behold, she didn't include a few steps in the recipe. Yipes! I wrote her and she didn't respond (sigh). But I figured it out. I am, after all, a mystery writer and a cook, and I can figure these things out.

Problem solved.

Gluten-free Focaccia
Bread

ala Gluten-free Girl

Tweaked!!!

Ingredients:

1 large
Yukon Gold potato, peeled and quartered

1 envelope (or 2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 tablespoon
sugar

1 cup warm
water (warm to your wrist, not boiling)

1 cup
tapioca flour

¾ cup
sorghum flour

½ cup potato
starch

½ cup sweet
rice flour

1 teaspoon
xanthan gum

½ teaspoon
guar gum

2 teaspoons
kosher salt (plus extra to coat bread)

1 large egg,
separated

3
tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons
chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried)

½ cup {in
addition to above} warm water

1 extra
tablespoon salt for boiling water

extra oil
for parchment paper *

Directions:

Fill a 6
quart saucepan ¾ full with water. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil. Add
the potatoes. Cook over medium-high heat until fork inserted in potato slips
out, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. When the potatoes are cool, mash with a large
spoon (or meat tenderizer).

Meanwhile,
proof the yeast. Combine the yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Add the warm
water (should feel warm to your wrist but not boiling). Stir in gently. Give
the mixture about 10 minutes to proof. (It’s okay if it sits longer.)

Combine the
tapioca flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, and sweet rice flour in a large
mixing bowl. Stir in the xanthan and guar gums and salt.

Add the egg
yolk, oil, yeasty water, and rosemary to the dry mixture. Run the mixer on
medium until the dough comes together, about five minutes. Now add the mashed
potato and an extra half-cup of warm water. The dough will be stiff and thicker
than cake batter.

To finish, beat the egg white until stiff. Fold it into the dough. Set the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise until doubled (about 1 hour).

To bake:

Preheat the
oven to 450 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper about 12 x 12 inches.
Grease both sides and set the parchment in a 9-inch pie pan.

Push the
dough into the pie pan and smooth the top with a spatula (that is wet with hot
water) or clean, wet fingers. Sprinkle
with olive oil and more salt. Put the focaccia in the oven and set a jelly
roll-sized pan filled with ice cubes beneath it. [This adds moisture.] Bake until the top is browned, about 25-35
minutes. Tip: You can use a meat thermometer to test the inside temperature of
the bread. It should be at least 180 degrees. Better if it’s closer to 190.
Slip this into the bread at the 25 minute mark.

Cool the
focaccia in the pan (in the oven, turned off) for at least 10 minutes. Then
remove from oven, remove the focaccia (with parchment paper) from the pie pan
and set on a wire rack to cool thoroughly!!
(About 30 minutes).

* * * * * * *

The 4th in A Cheese Shop Mystery series:

TO BRIE OR NOT TO BRIEcoming February 2013.
You can pre-order the book HERE.